First Week in Vegas (Las Vegas: rent, good credit, buying a home)

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I also think the homes in Vegas are cheap, even though the prices have doubled since the bottom in 2010-2011. Vegas is an international destination resort city yet you can buy very nice homes in a great area in the 200's. You can't even buy a burned out meth lab in some of the most dangerous, crime infested areas of many other major international cities for much under 300k (LA, SF, NY, Miami, etc.). I think the only reason prices in Vegas got as low as they did is because the prices overshot on the way up and then they crashed much harder than the rest of the country on the way down. I still think Vegas real estate is at bargain prices relative to similar cities around the US, and I am looking to buy at least one if not two more condos or townhouses in addition to a townhouse I already bought.

I am very optimistic about the future for Vegas. Everyone has their own opinion of course, but Nevada is a very business friendly state, there's lots to do in Vegas in the way of fun/entertainment 24 hours a day if you want it, and it's a short drive to LA, OC, SD, Phoenix or other areas of the west. And it's still relatively cheap vs income compared to other major cities.

I hear Des Moines, Iowa is cheap and lower crime, but the winters are brutal, it's in the middle of nowhere, and there's nothing to do. I would take Vegas any day over that....

^^^^LOL since I went to college in DSM. So agree. Nothing to do but great place to raise a family. And college is fun anywhere.

I think most of the ($!50,000 to $200,00) homes in Vegas are in crappy drug/crime areas. But just my opinion.

There are some ok homes in the 89123 area around Sliverado Ranch that are just under $200k. That's a decent area and I was looking around there for awhile. Granted many are those cookie cutter 2 stories on postage stamp sized lots built by Pulte or DR Horton or whoever, but in Orange County CA the same cookie cutter homes sell for over $700k in Irvine. I had an offer on a really nice smaller single story home near Wigwam/215 for $185k and I got beat out by $2k by another offer. The prices are going up and the deals are fewer and harder to find, but I think it's only a matter of time you won't be able to find anything for under $200k south of Sunset, probably by the end of next year...

The first 5 weeks have been great. I found a nice rental unit from 1998. After trying the housing market and getting pre-approved for the best home loans, I decided to sit out for a little while, save more money for a down payment and see what happens in 2018.

Job is going fine. Been busy in my spare time working my other business projects and have barely reached into a lot of other things. This really is a great place to live if you can keep the vices in check most of the time and you're good with your money.

The first 5 weeks have been great. I found a nice rental unit from 1998. After trying the housing market and getting pre-approved for the best home loans, I decided to sit out for a little while, save more money for a down payment and see what happens in 2018.

Job is going fine. Been busy in my spare time working my other business projects and have barely reached into a lot of other things. This really is a great place to live if you can keep the vices in check most of the time and you're good with your money.

Glad to hear you've settled in. It really is a great place to live. We don't want that to get out there too much.

Why is it ignorant? Because he stated an opinion about an observation about Las Vegas neighborhoods? I think he is pretty much 100% correct. What area in Vegas of under $200,000 homes doesn't have at least one of these, crime/drugs/homeless/minorities? Two of those things have a lot in common with the other two. (Now that would be an example of an ignorant if not factual statement) I pretty much feel that you could double those prices and still have the same problem here in Las Vegas. The advice the OP should be getting is to rent an apartment in the safest area that's most convenient to where he'll be working. His safety and the safety of his guests should come first. If he ends up getting shot, robbed or is too worried to leave the house than what's the point. Save your money until you can afford to buy a home in an nice clean safe area.

So to give you guys an update, I've been here since August 6th. Tomorrow I'll be officially living in my new home I rented. Everything is turned on, brand new bed and I got the locks changed. Here's a recap of everything so far.

1. I looked at buying a home, but due to older properties with asbestos I liked, I passed. I rented a unit from 1998 with an electronic gate, apartment on second floor with balcony, one bedroom in the $800s.

2. I found work in the first week I was here. Day 5 actually. However, I applied for jobs 4 weeks out. It was way above minimum wage. Start early before moving.

3. Living with a friend made this transition much easier than expected. If you know somebody here you can rent a room from, do it for a few months while you look for your own place.

4. Most real estate agents in this town don't care about people renting and renter's commissions. You need to pester these people to get results if you're renting.

5. As time goes on, the electronic machines just become second nature. Don't gamble if you live here. You aren't winning in the long term. If you have vices, this is the wrong place to be. There's a lot of broke people here.

6. Some nights I walk from my job downtown to the strip on the most common sidewalk on the side of Treasure Island and Stratosphere. I walk with tourists and have never felt unsafe. You see the same homeless people every day. No matter what people say, I love the strip, love the lights and the free entertainment. I do a lot of work on the strip. That will never get tiring.

7. Don't get sucked into other people's problems.

8. Between a brand new bed, all the move in costs, pet deposit, security deposit, locks changed, buying things for the unit and everything else, we're talking about close to $4000 to get started. I also had a good credit over 800 and was put through a very in-depth background check. I've never done anything bad in my life. This is why I tell people it's important to save money before moving here. I live in a nice community 4 miles from the strip and .5 miles from grocery stores and everything else. I'm happy where I moved to.

9. If you have dreams of striking it big gambling or some other something for nothing idea, don't come here. If you have big professional dreams, realize it's gonna take time before it comes to fruition.

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